A Not-So-Boring Day Off
by kiki.forever
Summary: Harry was bored during his day off until Hermione apparated into his kitchen at Godric's Hollow. A friendship and humor (no romance) story between Harry and Hermione.


A Not-So-Boring Day Off

Harry Potter sat in his living room in his comfortable, two-story home at Godric's Hollow, reading the Daily Prophet and sipping a soothing cup of tea. His day off was seemingly to be undisturbed; the only sounds were the chirping birds in the window next to his lounge chair and the soft _tick-tock_ of the grandfather clock in the far corner of the room.

He silently chuckled at some of the more far-fetched stories he read in the paper, knowing to only read the various articles with amusement and to not expect any truth. Skipping the gossip sections, he put the Daily Prophet down with a sigh, thinking how terrible he was at having a day off. He was dreadfully bored and wished to have someone to talk to. His wife of one-year, Ginny, left early this morning for Quidditch practice with the Harpies, leaving him with only the owl, Pumpkin, to converse with.

Briefly his thoughts drifted off to Hermione and Ron Weasley, wondering if they were faring well. He hadn't spoken to Ron's wife, Hermione, in over four months, due to her vigorous jobs in both the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures—which was now known for supporting rights for mistreated magical creatures, due to her constructive and demanding revisions—and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Just as the thoughts of his two best friends entered his mind, he heard a strident pop come from the kitchen and a loud thump plop onto the floor. After a quick glance at the clock, he inferred that it couldn't possibly be Ginny back from practice already; startled, he swiftly went to investigate the source of the noises, only to find a sobbing young woman on the floor of his kitchen.

Tears were streaming down Hermione Weasley's face, her legs curled under her robes with hands thrown pitifully across her reddened face. Rasps and sobs came from deep within her heaving chest, and all hell broke loose when she saw an incredulous Harry Potter's face.

"YOUR BEST FRIEND IS AN OUTRIGHT, POMPOUS, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING GIT! I WON'T STAND HAVING THAT TOE-RAG, RONALD WEASLEY, AS A HUSBAND!" Hermione sprang to her feet with rage, grasping the top of Harry's robes with rigor, shaking him so hard that his glasses fell off his face.

Her glistening, red face was inches from Harry's as she starred bug-eyed at her best friend, nearly begging him with her expression to understand the arrogant, self-centered antics of her husband.

"Hermione," Harry exclaimed a bit sarcastically, "Quite wonderful to see you, how're you?" She visibly twitched at his words, her hands curling tighter around his collar.

"H-h-he forgot our one-year anniversary!" She broke down again in front of him, her head landing against his hard chest with a thump. As she continued to cry noisily in front of him, Harry did something surprising. He began to laugh hysterically.

As he chortled in amusement, Hermione backed up and slowly began to raise her head, her eyes coming in contact with his doubled over form. Harry was still chuckling, not even noticing a hand come close to him until he felt a definite smack strike across his cheek.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," he flinched, bringing his hand up to the angry red mark forming across his face. "Ron didn't forget your anniversary!"

"He did!" She screamed, her wild hair springing in opposite directions. "The barmy git ruined the remembrance of the most important day of our lives! When I woke up this morning, he walked around the house like nothing important was occurring today. So, I played along. But just as I was about to give the bugger his gift, he apparated with a quick 'goodbye,' and that was the last I heard of him. I sent him a strongly worded Howler to his office this morning, I'll have you know!"

She spewed all of this in a couple of breaths, her eyes alight with such fire that Harry was almost certain that she'd have smoke blowing out of her ears in a few moments. Trying to calm her down, he led her to the sofa in his living room, levitating a warm cup of tea with one lump of sugar, just as she enjoyed it.

After she was settled, gulping down her steaming tea and wiping her nose with the sleeve of her robes, Harry thought it best to explain.

"I swear to you, Hermione, Ron didn't forget," he held up a finger to stop her before she could interrupt. "He planned this! He's going to surprise you this evening with dinner, a muggle boat ride, and a walk through the park. He even bought you an expensive diamond necklace."

Hermione's mouth dropped open, closed, and then dropped open again. "R-really?" Harry only nodded in response, his eyes twinkling as he replaced his haphazardly thrown glasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"Ron," Harry continued, "Was a complete wreck before your wedding last year. He was so nervous and excited, but the expression on his face when you walked into the chapel was priceless. Everyone could tell that he was a man stricken deeply in love with his bride. Ron could never forget that day."

Hermione gazed intently at the cup of tea in her hands. "I never thought he would," she said softly. "That's why I was so hurt. Our wedding day was the most special moment of my life, and I couldn't believe he actually forgot our first celebration of it."

"He didn't," Harry shook his head. "He'll remember for the rest of his life."

Finally satisfied, Hermione began to pleasantly chat with Harry, acting as if nothing had happened. Only after Harry applied ice to his face did he act as if her breakdown hadn't occurred.

He spent the rest of the morning talking with her, both friends simply catching up with the recent events. Hermione discussed a new law her and her team were trying to pass to stop discrimination against the kind werewolves of society, such as like Remus Lupin. Harry soaked in every word, glad to finally be able to talk with the woman he considered a sister.

Ever since the Second War five years ago, when him, Hermione, and Ron were on the hunt for the Horcruxes, Harry formed a closer friendship with Hermione, a bond akin to siblings. He knew he could trust her with anything, to the point where all they had to do was share a glance, and they knew something was terribly wrong.

Seeing Hermione break down like that in his kitchen broke his heart. And he knew it involved Ron in some way; he had to hold himself back from apparating into the Auror offices and giving Ronald Weasley a good pounding that would make Ron wish he could have a killing curse thrown at him.

However, all was well. He would always be there to protect Hermione Weasley from any danger, even if the danger—or in this case, severely misplaced and misunderstood heartbreak—came from his own best friend. Hermione was like the little sister Harry had never had; no matter the time or situation, it would always be this way.

Before Hermione left for her afternoon shift, Harry gave her a bone-crushing hug, ruffling her hair in an affectionate, brotherly way as she gave him a playful smack on the arm. He cupped his rough hands around her small face as he looked into her big brown eyes.

"Visit more often, alright, Hermione?" Harry asked warmly. "Perhaps next time you won't be in tears for absolutely no reason," he teased, removing his hands and giving her a gentle tap on the nose.

"Perhaps," she laughed, her eyes alighting now with humor. "And I'll visit again soon, I promise." She gave him one last hug before apparating.

Life was calm again—the only sound coming from the birds and the clock. Harry made his way back to his lounge chair, sitting down with a _plop_, thinking he had definitely had enough excitement for one morning. Maybe days off weren't quite as boring as he made them out to be.

* * *

**End of chapter notes: This is one of my first tries at British literature. I love the Harry Potter series, so I thought I'd give this one-shot a try. I hope you liked it. :)**


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